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AirAsia’s chief executive officer Tony Fernandes tweeted the senior first officer who he did not name had been suspended pending an investigation.

The suspension came as other Malaysian pilots rushed to defend the missing Malaysia Airlines' senior pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah who has been accused by unnamed sources quoted in international newspapers as being responsible for the plane’s disappearance and deaths of all 239 people on board.

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“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty…I can fully vouch for them (all MH370 crew members, 100 percent,” said a senior Malaysia Airlines pilot, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Another commercial pilot told the New Straits Times newspaper the media should not publish speculation.

The pilot of MH370, Zaharie Hamad Shah, in an image from a YouTube tribute video released by his family.

“It’s a big no no for the media to publish assumptions without firm evidence as this will not only affect family members of victims but also cause anxiety among the people,” said the pilot, who also did not want his name published.

“We need to find the flight data recorder or black box, to know the truth. They (the media) can publish speculations but doing so can unduly and negatively affect everyone’s perception towards Malaysia and MAS.”

Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya has also defended Captain Zaharie, saying his record over more than 30 years with the company, flying 18,000 hours, was “exemplary.”

Azil Abdul Rahman, the founder and former chief executive officer of Malaysia Airlines, said he has known Captain Zaharie since he was a cadet pilot 30 years ago.

“He is an excellent pilot and is also an excellent gentleman…I think they are going the wrong way pointing the finger at him,” Mr Azil said.

Mr Azail also defended 27 year-old co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid.

“His father learnt the Koran by heart and he also learnt the Koran by heart – he was a good Muslim,” he said.

The pro-government New Straits Times in a news report said several newspapers including the Sydney Morning Herald and the United Kingdom’s The Daily Express have published articles alluding to the fact that 53 year-old Captain Zaharie was the only person who could have pulled off the complicated manoeuvre leading to the crash.

In an editorial the New Straits Times accused international media of snatching “every piece of possible hearsay and gossip to produce sensationalist copies thought to sell best, with a public driven to boredom and looking for gratuitous adrenaline rushes.”

The editorial said that as a result Malaysia’s leaders have had to pay a high price despite that a “small country was thrust into a maelstrom of unparalleled proportions, and she has done well.”